KEY POINTS

  • 6 Americans serving in Israel's military and security forces have died since Oct. 7
  • Hamas' Ismail Haniyeh said the group was 'close to reaching a deal on a truce'
  • Fighting has erupted around the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza
  • The second phase of an 'imminent' deal could see 3 detained Palestinians freed for 1 Israeli hostage
Live Updates
Hundreds of people protested outside the UN children's fund in Tel Aviv to demand the release of around 240 hostages, including children, held by Hamas militants
Hundreds of people protested outside the UN children's fund in Tel Aviv to demand the release of around 24 hostages being held by Hamas, including children. AFP

As Israel and Hamas enter their 46th day of fighting, the U.S. announced that six American nationals serving in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel border security have died since the war started.

Around 1,200 American citizens remain in Gaza even as 800 have already left the enclave, the State Department said Monday.

Hamas' political bureau chief said the terror group was "close to reaching a deal on a truce" with Israel. A two-phase truce deal is "imminent" and may be announced by Qatar as soon as Tuesday, sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Axios. The second phase could see the release of three detained Palestinians for one Israeli hostage. A Qatari mediator said negotiations were at the "final stage," as per AFP.

Israel defended its firing into the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, saying it only responded to firing from the hospital and said it did not fire shells into the health facility.

Hamas invaded Israel on Oct. 7, killing more than a thousand people and abducting over 200 people, mostly civilians. The massacre stems from deep-rooted Israel-Palestine tensions over territorial disputes that has also drawn attacks into Israel from other militant groups in the Middle East, including Lebanese paramilitary group Hezbollah.

The live update has ended.

Hostage negotiations at 'final stage': Qatari mediator

A Qatari mediator in hostage deal talks between Israel and Hamas said negotiations have reached the "final stage." Talks are currently "at the closest point" to an agreement since the war started," AFP reported Tuesday.

Images of hostages being held by Palestinian militant group Hamas are shown in Germany
Images of hostages being held by Palestinian militant group Hamas are shown in Germany. AFP

Hostage deal possible 'in the next few hours': Israeli media

Details of a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas may be finalized "in the next few hours," local N12 News reported Tuesday afternoon local time, citing senior officials in Israel.

The news comes after Axios reported that a hostage agreement in exchange of a multiday ceasefire was "imminent."

Thomas Hand's daughter, Emily, and Orit Meir's son, Almog, are among the more than 200 hostages seized by Hamas
Thomas Hand's daughter, Emily, and Orit Meir's son, Almog, are among the more than 200 hostages being held by Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza. AFP

2-phase hostage deal 'imminent': report

An agreement to free dozens of hostages in exchange for a multiday ceasefire is imminent and may be announced by Qatar as soon as Tuesday, Axios reported, citing two sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

In the first phase of the deal, Hamas is expected to free 50 Israeli women and children being held in Gaza, while Israel is expected to release around 150 Palestinian detainees, mostly women and minor children.

While the first phase is expected to take place over a four-day ceasefire in Gaza, the second phase could see the terror group freeing up to another 50 Israeli hostages for another multiday ceasefire.

The second part of the agreement also includes Israel freeing Palestinian prisoners at a 3:1 ratio to the number of hostages freed by Hamas.

Also part of the deal is Israel allowing around 300 humanitarian aid trucks into the Gaza Strip daily.

'What would your country do?' Israeli ambassador asks UN

Gilad Erdan, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, pleaded with the UN to "support Israel's mission" of eliminating Hamas, which he said was a "cancer that must be removed."

"What would your country do to prevent such horror from happening again?" Erdan said, referring to the Oct. 7 massacre in Israel. "What would your country do to bring home 240 hostages including babies, women and the elderly?" he further asked. He also urged UN members to "contemplate" on his questions "before voting on any future resolutions."

Erdan's remarks came days after the UN Security Council adopted a resolution calling for "urgent and extended" humanitarian pauses in the Gaza Strip as well as the immediate release of hostages.

Sirens sound in northern Israel

Rocket sirens sounded in northern Israel, local media reported. The news comes amid intensifying attacks on Israel from Lebanese territory.

Egypt pushing for Gaza truce: Arab media

The Egyptian government is "intensifying its efforts with all concerned parties to reach a truce in Gaza," Sky News Arabia reported, citing an Egyptian source.

Qatar has also been mediating between Israel and Hamas for an agreement to release some hostages being held by the terror group in Gaza in exchange for a multiday ceasefire.

Israel reopens evacuation passage, to temporarily halt military activities in Tal al-Sultan area

The Israeli army has reopened an evacuation corridor for northern Gaza residents fleeing to the south, IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee said in a Google-translated post on X Tuesday.

The IDF will also temporarily stop its military activities for several hours in the Tal al-Sultan neighborhood "for humanitarian purposes."

Mortar bomb fired at Israeli military post near Lebanese border: IDF

A mortar bomb was fired at an IDF post near Israel's border with Lebanon, the Israeli army said Tuesday. The attack came after Israeli fighter jets targeted several Hezbollah assets in Lebanon, including military infrastructure, following the identification of three anti-tank squads near the Lebanese border.

1,353 humanitarian trucks received since Oct. 21: PRCS

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has received a total of 1,353 trucks carrying humanitarian aid since Oct. 21, it said Tuesday. On Monday, a total of 70 trucks from the Egyptian Red Crescent entered the Rafah border crossing, the organization added.

2 more soldiers die in northern Gaza

Two more Israeli soldiers have died in battle in the northern Gaza Strip, the IDF announced on its tribute page for fallen soldiers on Tuesday.

  • Capt. Arnon Moshe Avraham Benvenisti Vaspi, 26 – combat officer in the Givati Brigade
  • Sgt. Ilya Senkin, 20 – from with Rotem Battalion of the Givati Brigade

50 journalists and media personnel dead since Oct. 7

A total of 50 journalists and media staffers have been confirmed dead since the war started, nonprofit the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said Tuesday. Also, since the deadly Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas in Israel, 11 journalists were reported injured, three journalists were reported missing and 18 were reportedly arrested.

Lebanese Reuters video journalist Issam Abdallah was killed at Alma al-Shaab village by the border with Israel
Mourners attend the funeral of Lebanese Reuters video journalist Issam Abdallah. AFP

Terrorists attacked in Jabalia underground shafts: IDF

Israeli troops attacked three underground shafts "on the outskirts of Jabalia where terrorists were found," the IDF said Tuesday. Combat teams under the 401st and Nahal brigades also fought against terrorists in the area with the help of military tanks and remotely manned aircraft.

Israeli army said it directly targeted source of gunfire from Indonesian Hospital

The Israeli army said its troops "directly targeted the specific source of enemy fire" after "terrorists opened fire from within the Indonesian hospital in Gaza toward IDF troops operating outside the hospital."

The IDF's statement came after health authorities from the Hamas-controlled enclave said Monday that 12 people died after Israeli tank fire hit the Indonesian Hospital. "No shells were fired toward the hospital," the IDF insisted.

Israel attacks source of missiles fired from Lebanese territory

Israeli forces attacked the source of anti-tank missiles fired from Lebanese territory Tuesday morning local time, the IDF said. Three missiles targeting the Metula area were detected from Lebanon, but no casualties were reported, the IDF added.

The IDF's report came amid growing concerns that the Israel-Hamas conflict may spill over into the Middle East.

Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for new attacks against Israeli troops stationed near Israel's northern border with Lebanon on Monday. The Iran-backed movement said it attacked Israel with artillery, drones and missiles.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah delivers his first speech since the Gaza war erupted almost four weeks ago, broadcast as part of an event in Beirut's southern suburbs, a stronghold of the Iran-backed militant group
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has called Hamas "heroic" and warned against continued Israeli air strikes into the Gaza Strip. AFP

250 Hamas targets attacked in the last day: IDF

The Israeli army's air defense forces attacked around 250 Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip in the last day, the IDF said Tuesday. Missile launchers were among the assets attacked by Israeli warplanes.

Hamas leader says truce deal 'close'

Ismail Haniyeh, chairman of Hamas' political bureau, said Tuesday that the militant group was nearing a truce agreement with Israel. "We are close to reaching a deal on a truce," he said in a statement, marking the first time the group used more positive language regarding hostage talks.

His statement came following multiple reports that the two sides were getting much closer to a potential deal that could see the release of up to 50 hostages being held in Gaza in exchange for a multiday ceasefire and more humanitarian aid into Gaza.

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Hamas has confirmed the unopposed re-election of its leader Ismail Haniyeh as head of the Palestinian Islamist movement
A hostage deal has been elusive since the war started, but Ismail Haniyeh's comments have raised hopes for the release of hostages being held by the terror group in Gaza. AFP / KARIM JAAFAR

Anti-tank missile found under baby bed in Gaza: IDF

Israeli troops found "an anti-tank missile hidden under a baby bed" at the home of a terrorist in the Gaza Strip, the IDF said Tuesday morning local time. Also discovered within the said residence were multiple weapons.

IDF spox discusses 'passageway' in tunnel found within Al-Shifa Hospital compound

The Israeli army on Tuesday discussed "evidence" it found to prove that Hamas terrorists built a tunnel complex for its paramilitary operations under the Al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza's largest health compound. The IDF previously published footage and images of a tunnel shaft it unearthed within the Al-Shifa Hospital compound.

During early Tuesday's operational briefing, IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus discussed footage of what a drone camera took inside the tunnel shaft that Israeli troops uncovered over the weekend.

Upon descending into the shaft, the drone footage shows what Conricus said was a "passageway of a tunnel." As the drone camera went deeper into the shaft, the passage led to "a blast door."

"It's evidently clear that this has nothing to do with anything related to medical activity," he said, adding that it was only the first release in a series of evidential exposés of what Hamas has been using hospitals for. The Israeli army continues to search the hospital compound, he added.

6 American citizens serving in Israeli military and security forces have died: State Department

"There are a total of six American citizens who have died" since the Oct. 7 attacks, "five who are members of the IDF, and one who is a national police border officer," U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a press briefing Monday.

Four of the IDF servicemen are believed to have died in Gaza, while the other is said to have died in northern Israel.

He also revealed that around 1,200 U.S. citizens are still trapped in the Gaza Strip, while about 800 American citizens, legal permanent residents and family members have left the enclave.

Last week, the number of American nationals remaining in the enclave was at less than 900. Miller explained that the State Department continues to identify additional U.S. citizens and their dependents, which is why the number has since increased.